The present invention relates to an implement for the transport and dispensing of food, and more particularly, to a covered dish which serves as a delivery container and food plate for individual meals.
In institutional settings a prerequisite to the serving of food is that the food be kept hot and flavorful for serving to the patient or other inmate of the institution. The utensils used must be easily cleanable and lend themselves to easy use by the weak and infirmed. Further, the container should be stackable and a person should be able to carry a number of containers simultaneously so that a quick and efficient dispensing of the food is possible.
In general, institutions have used the standard plate coupled with a moveable metal cover in order to retain the heat and flavor of the food while affording stackability of the container. While the metal cover had the advantages of strength to allow the stacking of food containers and was easily cleanable, it would not retain the heat and flavor of the food over a long period of time due to its incomplete sealing of the plate and the natural thermal conductivity associated with metals. Furthermore, with this arrangement, beverages had to be served separately thereby occasioning a loss of efficiency.
More importantly, no satisfactory means is available which will allow an individual such as a worker or visiting nurse to prepare a hot meal in advance and carry it from the place of preparation to a distant location such as a job site or home, or any other setting where a complete hot meal is not conveniently available and have it available for consumption there, at a much later time. It is obvious that the standard institutional approach can not function in other than an institutional setting; a plate with a metal cover loosely positioned over it will not keep food appetizing outdoors for more than a few minutes. There is no protection from the elements at all. Using presently available products, an individual must use a multitude of separate insulated containers to carry a full meal to, say, an infirmed person who resides some distance away.
Containers have been developed which specifically retain the desired temperature of food but these are difficult to clean or eat out of, or both. Some of these containers included a standard plate with a cover thereon to retain the warmth and flavor of the food while also retaining the easy cleaning characteristics of the plate. However, such devices simply provide extra dishes to clean while allowing different foods to come in contact with one another when the container is transported any distance.